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E-TOURISM : TRANSFORMING TRAVEL THROUGH

TECHNOLOGY

CHALLA SRAVAN KRISHNAMANAIDU

2416132
B.A. [H] HISTORY – SEMESTER 1
SKILL ENHANCEMENT COURSE – GROUP 1

The tourism sector has seen unprecedent growth in modern days. It is

because of digitalization of the industry. The concept of e-tourism is characterized by the integration of
information and communication technology (ICT) in tourism. The globalization is the prime factor for this
integration. The use of information and communication technology enables the consumers to get information
regarding the complete details of the trip. India’s overall rank was 34 out of 140 countries in tourism according to
the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019. This shows the potential to develop
India’s tourism sector. The government of India has brought a mission called National Digital Tourism Mission to
boost tourism industry through ICT to develop an interface for seamless exchange of information amongst the
stakeholders of tourism service ecosystem. The use of ICT makes the activity effective and efficient. Because trips
raise many questions regarding accommodation, transport, food & beverages, and entertainment services. The ICT
integrates all these services and provides seamless experience for the consumers. In this project let us discuss
the following:
1. Current Status of Digitalization in Tourism Sector
2. Challenges in e-Tourism Sector in India.
3. National Tourism Digital Mission 2022
4. How to Boost e-Tourism sector?
5. Conclusion and References.
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E-TOURISM : TRANSFORMING TRAVEL THROUGH
TECHNOLOGY

CURRENT STATUS OF DIGITALIZATION IN INDIA

1. Widespread Use of Technology :

The advancements in technology has fostered the innovations, growth and globalizing the tourism industry.
The use of internet makes the communication between destination stakeholders or service providers and
the consumers easier, effective and efficient. The use of social media provides platforms where consumers
can get to know detailed information regarding the destination of the trip. The famous websites like
TripAdvisor, Thomas cook provides information from booking of tickets to the insights of the destination.

2. Development of Intermediary Platforms :

The development of various mobile applications has further added to the
successful expansion of tourism.
A] The 1st step in this activity is ticket booking. The development of
various means of transportation enabled people to move to different
areas of the world. The platforms like Ixigo, Redbus, and other websites
made consumers directly to book the tickets easily.
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E-TOURISM : TRANSFORMING TRAVEL THROUGH
TECHNOLOGY

B] The second activity in this process is staying. The online platforms

bring all the regional or local hotels under one roof such that
consumers can book on their choices. The various platforms like Agoda,
MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, etc., provides consumers various hotels at
different prices. The booking of hotel is mandatory if a person goes on
international tour.

C] The regional transportation is a problematic stage of the tour. The metropolitan cities has wide range
of regional transportation facilities like city buses, metro stations operated by the government. The
tourists obviously get confused and tricked by the local auto drivers. So, the government has developed
applications which brings all modes of regional transportation under one roof such that tourists can avail
these services at reasonable costs. The government also provides city maps and important tourist
attractions in the applications such that there will be easy and happy vacation without any issues. For
example the Delhi government has launched an application called ONE DELHI which provides tickets for
all kinds of regional transportation and makes transport easy. The Karnataka government has launched
an application called NAMMA BENGALURU for similar purpose. There are transportation services provided
by private firms such as Uber, Ola and Rapido. They can also be availed easily as they use GPS technology.
This makes people to enjoy hassle free vacation.

D] The

food varies from place to place. Because of

the process of globalization not just the
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E-TOURISM : TRANSFORMING TRAVEL THROUGH
TECHNOLOGY

trade but also the cultures got exchanged. The tourists are provided to get food from local to continental
through online at their doorstep. The platforms like Zomato & Swiggy provides door delivery of food and
beverages. They also provide information of various restaurants and types of food available in the area.
This avoids the problems of food and beverages.

3. Integrated Database :
The use of databases where the preferences and the
information of the consumers are stored helps the
online platforms to display the tourist spots and
prerequisites essential for the trip. These databases
lets the destination stakeholders to know the basic
information about the consumers. This facilitates
both the consumers and the stakeholders by making
the work paperless. These databases provides the
information to the consumers regarding the amenities provided by the stakeholders whether true or not.

4. Medical and Cultural Tourism :

In modern days people move to different countries for better treatment. For example, people move to
Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, etc., for the treatment of cancer. People also take holy trips to pilgrim
sites. This made the religious destinations to develop a platform where one can have safe journey, darshan
and stays near to the pilgrim site. For example the TTD maintains a portal where people can book their
darshan tickets and book stays during their trip.
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E-TOURISM : TRANSFORMING TRAVEL THROUGH
TECHNOLOGY

CHALLENGES IN E-TOURISM SECTOR

The tourism sector has many challenges to address. These challenges can affect the
tourism industry.
1. The primary challenge is the lack of accurate information. There are many websites or platforms that
provide information in which some might be fraud. The multiple websites confuse the consumers and ends
up consumers in troubles.
2. The second and the biggest challenge is the personal data. User privacy is identified as a huge challenge
in e-tourism. Therefore, users’ data such as their basic personal information, payment methods, interests,
preferences, GPS data and opinions must be protected. The sharing of data across different platforms
might leads to privacy breach.
3. The presence of different stakeholders might restrict the flow of information because of the use of
different languages. This curtails the data and brings technical glitches. This troubles both the users and
the stakeholders.
4. The other challenge is the infrastructure, human resource and planning. The development of both digital
and physical infrastructure is needed to encourage the tourism activities of the user. The authorized tourist
guides can provide accurate information regarding tourist attractions and complete trip. They can be
channelized into a common interface.
The government of India after going
through all the challenges and importance of integrating information and
communication technology, brought a mission called National Digital
Tourism Mission to address the challenges and boost tourism industry.
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E-TOURISM : TRANSFORMING TRAVEL THROUGH
TECHNOLOGY

NATIONAL DIGITAL TOURISM MISSION 2022

The National Digital Tourism Mission envisages to achieve the objective of
harnessing the full potential of digitization in tourism sector by facilitating
exchange of information and services in tourism sector. It aims to connect various stakeholders all over the
country under one roof such that there will be a seamless standardised data exchange. It builds a connected
ecosystem where the information gaps among different stakeholders are bridged. It also aims to bring tourism
activities under a unified system to enhance the competitiveness of the hospitality and tourism sector. This
mission a part of DIGITAL INDIA MISSION which aims to digitally empower citizens.
In this manner the govt integrates all the
services provided by different stakeholders
under one roof. This connected ecosystem
provides multiple choices for the consumers
crossing all the barriers for getting
information. It provides availability of
affordability choices in solutions, access and
agency.
The ecosystem members should define
promise based inter-relationships and
setup quality control processes to
achieve assured service levels for all
participating stakeholders. It wants to
build a sense of cooperation among all
the stakeholders such that there will be
no technical glitch when services are
being provided to the user. In this way
the government provides a single
window interface to ease the tourism by integrating the information and communication technology.
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E-TOURISM : TRANSFORMING TRAVEL THROUGH
TECHNOLOGY

BOOSTING E-TOURISM IN INDIA

Tourist satisfaction is the important component which further expands the
future of tourism industry. This industry needs some modifications for
better performance. The following can be made to boost the concept of e-
tourism in India.
1. The use of information and communication technology can be increased to attract more tourists. It
improves the quality of services being provided.
2. Though the government has brought the mission, it needs perfect execution. Because the generation of
unified interface can only be possible when there exists coordination among the stakeholders.
3. The marketing plays the important role in this case. The service providers can use images and videos of
the services they do provide. They can use social media platforms for marketing where they can attract
more tourists.
4. Rather than just sight-seeing, the improvement in the infrastructure for entertainment which increases
consumer’s satisfaction can also be done to boost e-tourism.
5. Tour operators need constantly to interact with all their partners, including accommodation and
transportation principals. ICTs are also critical for the distribution of tour operators’ packages.
6. An online helpdesk can be created in multi lingual mode so that the consumers can easily avail
information.
7. The improvement in applications like DIGIYATRA can also be made by linking the ticket and boarding pass
to the Aadhaar. Since it uses facial recognition, there is no need to carry physical documents and makes
the movement easier and faster.
8. Digital platforms and applications can enhance overall customer experience by providing personalized
recommendations, virtual tours and easy access to customer service in multi lingual mode.
9. Equipping tourism professionals with the skills and knowledge to effectively use digital tools and
platforms.
10. Providing special offers, discounts to repeated customers can also be made to attract tourists
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E-TOURISM : TRANSFORMING TRAVEL THROUGH
TECHNOLOGY

CONCLUSION :

The concept of e-tourism has a positive impact on tourism industry. It has combination of
different travel components, bundled and priced in real time, in response to the requests of the consumer or
booking agent. This cuts the intermediaries activities thereby saving time and money. The cities with attraction
places need to develop the e-tourism infrastructures in order to keep up with the competitiveness in the future.
ICTs integration provides a powerful tool that brings advantage in promoting and strengthening tourism industry.
The enterprises websites needed to be updated with the latest information and technologies. There are
personalized recommendations based on user preferences and past behaviours which enhances travel
experiences. Since the work goes online, there will be reduction in the usage of paper. Thus e-tourism can be
boosted.

REFERENCES :
1. Report on National Digital Tourism Mission 2022 by Ministry of Tourism,
Government of India.
2. Emerging trends in e-tourism and its impact in tourism sector by Rose
Okwemba.
3. Role of information and communication technology in tourism sector by
Tourism beast.